


Biotic Attraction

by Kira_Dattei



Series: Moments Between Missions [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 08:03:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12361227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kira_Dattei/pseuds/Kira_Dattei
Summary: Shepard usually thinks Kaidan is attractive, but he's downright hot when he's glowing with biotic energy.





	Biotic Attraction

**Author's Note:**

> After a LONG time away from the fandom, I felt like warming myself back up to the characters. So, I looked at pics of these guys and found ones that sparked an idea. This one came from a screenshot of Kaidan using his biotics.  
> Because my head-canon always operates under the guise that Kaidan could be romanced in the first game, that's the only thing that's not officially canon-compliant.  
> Enjoy!

There was plenty appealing about Major Kaidan Alenko, in Shepard’s opinion. He didn’t even think it was much of a biased opinion to think that either, considering how much attention Kaidan got from all over the place.

Hackett and Anderson talked to Kaidan nearly as often as they talked to Shepard. He knew much of that came from the nearly three years he’d been out of Alliance channels and the two Admirals had gotten a hold of Kaidan and wouldn’t let him go simply because he was on the Normandy. And Kaidan was constantly forwarding intel he sorted through from their missions to them to give them any edge they could get.

The Council weren’t far behind on how often they called for Kaidan. Apparently, saving their lives had left as much of an influence on them as Shepard saving them during Sovereign’s attack. At least they recognized action when it concerned their lives. Shepard wasn’t even sure what they were talking to him about since Kaidan usually just didn’t think to tell when he didn’t ask and it rarely ended with him saying he’d been given a mission. That happened every once in a while, “because they were in the area.”

Liara would seek him out semi-regularly for any variety of reasons. These included helping her process intel that came through Shadow Broker sources, keeping up with her conversation when she started off on a tangent, keeping her screens working, and practicing with biotics. Kaidan spent quite a bit of time with Liara, though that was something that had started on the SR-1 after she’d come to terms with Shepard’s feelings towards Kaidan and that she had simply had a crush. Kaidan was too easy-going to keep a grudge against, especially for someone as kind-hearted – especially back then - as Liara.

Tali loved his company, always had, and the two could carry a techno babble argument on for hours when they got going. It was amusing as hell for most to watch, even when they lost most people about what the hell they were talking about within minutes. Shepard was getting better, simply from being around them when they went at it because Kaidan arguing for fun was hot as hell, the combination of excitement and amusement just lighting up his expression in a unique way.

Garrus, of course, loved seeing how much he could get away with talking to Kaidan. The turian’s whole goal was to get Kaidan’s deadpan tone – which was fantastically on par – to break, either to actually show amusement or irritation, depending on which way Garrus decided to take things that day. So, while Shepard would readily say he and Garrus were best friends, the friendship between his partner and his friend wasn’t lacking.

Even James, who was the most thrown by Kaidan, wasn’t opposed to passing time with the biotic. He’d found another sparring partner, someone besides Shepard who could hold his own against the muscled Lieutenant. And if he caught Kaidan in the right mood, they’d be trading quips as easily as Steve did with James. Shepard thought that was huge progress for the man who was uncomfortable sharing anything besides mission reports when they’d first met.

And Javik…Well, the Prothean pretty much ignored Kaidan like he ignored everyone, so that wasn’t worth allowing into Shepard’s train of thought now.

Which brought Shepard back to his original thought: Kaidan had a lot of appeal. And, of course, Kaidan didn’t really see all those things in himself, which made it all the better.

He certainly didn’t think about how hot he looked when using his biotics, a sight Shepard had been content to watch for the past five minutes without letting his partner know he was there.

Kaidan was focused on the task at hand: biotically field stripping his assault rifle and reassembling it, repeating the process apparently as often as he needed until he was satisfied with the work. Blue energy flowed around his body, thicker around his hands before extending out to wrap around the weapon. And even from the side profile Shepard had of Kaidan, he could see the blue tint concentrated around Kaidan’s eyes, appearing to change the color.

Really, what wasn’t there to like about this?

Kaidan finished securing the casing surrounding the rifle and Shepard saw him taking in a deep breath, getting ready to do it all over again, and Shepard decided it was time to give his partner a break. He really didn’t want to see Kaidan squinting against the light when he came to the cabin that night because he’d pushed too hard with his biotics when he was just training.

“I don’t know what they call that in Brain Camp, but I consider it showing off,” Shepard said as he stepped further away from the elevator and towards the weapons bench where Kaidan was working. Steve and Vega were surprising nowhere to be seen, though Shepard figured that was why he’d decided to go ahead with his biotic practice session. He’d been concentrating pretty seriously and James wouldn’t have let that happen.

Steve, at least, would have tried but he usually got dragged into things by trying to keep Vega in line, especially with the Major. Steve appeared to not appreciate James’ lackadaisical attitude toward Kaidan, but Shepard attributed that to the shuttle pilot not having the best read on Kaidan yet. Kaidan hadn’t been back on the Normandy overly long and didn’t spend much time around Steve so Shepard figured it was just a matter of time before that worked itself out.

Kaidan had tensed when Shepard first spoke and he wondered idly if he’d barely avoided having a Reave thrown at him. People tended not to make a habit of surprising marines, especially ones with biotics as strong as Kaidan’s.

The rifle settled against the table, the energy around Kaidan fading away as he released his focus and let out a relaxing breath before he turned toward Shepard, resting his elbow next to the gun and leaning onto it. He’d been at it for a while before Shepard had found him if the layer of sweat on his forehead was any indication.

“You think that about everything done with biotics,” he replied with a slight grin. “Face it, Shepard, they’re flashy.”

Shepard grinned back as he walked over to the table, moving in right next to Kaidan, not touching but close, closer than he’d stand to anyone else.

They’d only gotten back together about a week ago so they were still sort of adjusting to that layer of their relationship. Shepard had spent so long under the “look don’t touch, unless he could get away with it” manner of interacting with Kaidan and it wasn’t an overnight change to be made. Especially with Kaidan, who wasn’t really a touchy-feely guy with anyone, so Shepard was trying to figure out how quickly he should move that along without the other man getting uncomfortable.

“I don’t remember this being a thing for you,” Shepard said as he reached out for the rifle, checking the assembly.

“Which part?”

“Mixing guns and biotics.”

“You do realize that it happens every time I activate my biotics in the field when I’m armed, right?” Shepard gave it a second and realized that, no, he hadn’t thought of that. Kaidan’s returned grin said he knew as much. “Don’t worry; most non-biotics don’t think about that. Faulty thermal clips happen semi-regularly with biotics who don’t have a good handle on their discharge.”

“So complicated.”

“I guess it’s a good thing you’re not a biotic then.”

Shepard turned from the rifle and gave Kaidan a stunned look, the man just shrugging a shoulder at him in response. “That’s just rude and hurtful, Alenko. What happened to that quiet, polite, respectful Lieutenant I had on the SR-1.”

Kaidan’s expression faltered a little and Shepard knew his mind had taken a darker turn before he got a handle on it and kept it on the lighter note they’d established. There was still a short pause where Kaidan seemed unsure about what to say before settling on, “He got promoted a few times. Turns out the quiet thing doesn’t work so well when giving orders. Even the polite thing is a 50/50. Then again, I was commanding some more of those ‘complicated biotics’ so maybe it was just the company.”

“Just don’t take the route I did,” Shepard said as he leaned against the table his hand close enough to Kaidan’s to feel the warmth coming off him; Kaidan usually ran a little warm, apparently another biotic thing from all the energy he was constantly burning.

“Which was what, exactly?” Kaidan asked as he turned a little more towards Shepard, his legs coming out from under the table to brush against Shepard’s. It was the slightest contact but it was deliberate and that meant a lot coming from Kaidan.

“Think they’re hot as hell and talk to them at every opportunity to wear them down until they agree to go out with you.”

Kaidan outright smiled at that so Shepard counted it a win. Even better, there was a hint of red rising on his cheeks and that was wonderfully attractive. As wise to the world as Kaidan always seemed to be, it amused Shepard to no end that he got a little flustered when it came to being complimented, especially by someone who thought and told him he was attractive.

“Really? You don’t recommend that as a tactic for gaining favor with people? It worked out so well for you.” Shepard actually couldn’t tell if Kaidan was being sarcastic there; as good as Shepard was at reading Kaidan, every once in a while he’d get one over on him. Either way, he knew his own response would take them for a more serious turn.

And hopefully get that blush to darken significantly.

He slid his hand forward a little and brushed his fingers against the back of Kaidan’s hand. “For some reason, I don’t like the idea of you being interested in other people and wanting to go out with them. It’s like I have a vested interest in you focusing that attention on me.”

Kaidan’s eyes were watching Shepard intently, following his movements as the man stepped in closer so he was standing between Kaidan’s legs, looking down the short distance between them. His hand covered Kaidan’s now, his fingers wrapping around the curve of Kaidan’s wrist, feeling the man’s slightly heightened pulse under his touch.

“I guess I can understand that. Good thing I feel the same.” Kaidan’s voice was low, nearly a whisper and Shepard’s own heart rate ticked up a bit at hearing that tone from the other man; it was intimate and he wanted to hear more of it.

Deciding why not, Shepard’s other hand lifted and brushed against Kaidan’s cheek, taking in the feel of the clean-shaven skin. He leaned down, watching Kaidan for any sign that he was pushing things and seeing nothing so he continued until he was close enough to feel Kaidan’s breathing against his mouth. He hovered there, his eyes sliding closed as Kaidan realized what he was doing and moved forward that last little bit to touch their lips together.

It was their first kiss since getting back together, this being only the second time they’d been alone since that dinner. But kissing Kaidan, even just the gentle brush of the lips that this was, was even better than Shepard remembered. Maybe it was the lack of impending death that had been there that night before Ilos, or maybe there was just more emotion between them now. Either way, Shepard knew with a frightening certainty that he’d do whatever he could to keep the right to keep on doing this and more with Kaidan.

As it was, his hand slid back across Kaidan’s cheek and through his thick hair to curl around the back of his neck, pulling Kaidan forward a little to increase the pressure of the kiss. He felt Kaidan’s hand turn in his grip to take hold of his hand as the biotic’s other hand reached up and rested against Shepard’s chest. Shepard opened his mouth a little, feeling Kaidan follow the motion and his tongue darted out to taste the other man’s lips, noting the hitch in Kaidan’s breathing as he did. He pulled away then, hovering mere inches away from Kaidan, feeling more satisfied than he probably should about how still he was, like it was taking him a bit to recover from what wasn’t really all that much of a kiss. Over two years ago, they’d done a lot more and Shepard was sure he hadn’t thrown Kaidan like this at any point then.

“You’re not done,” Kaidan’s voice was even rougher now and Shepard was sure that tone would always get some arousal from him as it did now. And if Kaidan ever figured that out, he’d gain a reasonable advantage over Shepard in the teasing department.

As it was, he smiled as he maneuvered to the side, using his hands on Kaidan to have him follow so that his back was facing the table. With something behind Kaidan, Shepard leaned more weight against him, pressing the man into the table before his lips went back to work against Kaidan’s. He didn’t waste any time getting his tongue on Kaidan’s lips, tasting for a few seconds before pushing past and really getting a good taste of his…whatever they were.

His hot biotic, if nothing else.

Kaidan’s hand had followed the line of Shepard’s shirt and grabbed a firm hold at his collarbone, using the grip to encourage Shepard to keep in close, which he was happy to do. He couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather be than surrounded by the sight, scent, sound, and taste of Kaidan Alenko. And as Kaidan’s tongue pushed back against his, he figured they were in agreement in this.

They’d always been in sync with each other though, so that wasn’t really a surprise.

Shepard would have happily kept on kissing Kaidan, maybe seeing if that spot on his neck right at the crease of his jaw was still as sensitive as he remembered, when he caught the sound of the elevator heading down,

He pulled away, letting out a quiet, “Dammit,” as his head dropped to Kaidan’s shoulder. He didn’t really care if anyone knew about the two of them together – everyone had more important things to worry about than him being in a relationship with Kaidan and he was never one to hide something positive when they faced so much death and destruction = but he knew how private Kaidan was. Even if Kaidan didn’t care about people knowing, which Shepard was pretty sure was the case, the biotic wasn’t one to make a show of it to anyone. Not yet anyway; Shepard would work on that with him, helping him get more confident in allowing himself to enjoy what they had now that they had it.

But he could already feel the shift in Kaidan’s body, a tension that hadn’t been there since Shepard walked into the room.

Shepard moved away then, sneaking in a quick peck of the lips against Kaidan’s neck just above the collar of his uniform on his way out. He stepped back and to the side, getting back to where he’d started, nearby but not touching. Kaidan took in a deep breath as he turned back towards the table as he let it out.

“Surprised we had that long to ourselves,” Kaidan muttered and Shepard couldn’t help but grin at the frustrated hint to the biotic’s tone. Good to know Kaidan was as disappointed as he was that they couldn’t have spent more time getting reacquainted without relocating. He didn’t think they would have gone much further, Shepard wanting to keep things a little slower with Kaidan – time was a little more on their side now – so they could just enjoy being together, but he thought maybe at least getting Kaidan’s shirt undone and seal the occasion with a mark below the line of his collar.

Shepard leaned forward, resting his weight on his elbows on the table as Kaidan reached out and grabbed the rifle to start stripping it down again by hand, probably checking it to make sure he didn’t mess anything up using his biotics. It seemed like something Kaidan would do anyway, and it’d give him something to focus on.

The elevator opened and James stepped out, his face animating as he saw Shepard there. “Hey, Loco! I wondered where you’d gotten off to,” the man declared as he walked over, giving Shepard a hearty slap to the shoulder, nearly knocking Shepard off-balance with the force of the impact.

“Yes, because that curiosity couldn’t have been satisfied any other way than seeing me in the cargo hold,” Shepard shot back with a slight grin.

Vega chuckled as he walked to the opposite side of the table and checked out what Kaidan was doing. Shepard glanced down and saw that Kaidan had pulled out the compartment for the thermal clip and was giving it a closer inspection. Either he found something of concern or he was avoiding having to talk to Vega. They might not have issues with each other, but Vega was on the more boisterous side and Kaidan was simply less sure about what he should do and say with people like that. And the slight flush still visible on his cheeks told Shepard he wasn’t being quick on the recovery from their interrupted make-out.

Shepard really had to fight the grin that wanted to rise for that realization; it wouldn’t be an innocent look and Kaidan might actually hit him or make him test the rifle without finishing his inspection if he got Vega going on him.

“You’re as bad as Scars about trusting Esteban with your gear,” Vega said, and Shepard did smile then because obviously James hadn’t paid close enough attention to Kaidan’s gear.

“It’s not mine. I’m not a fan of the Lancer models. Their casing isn’t as resistant to biotic charges as even the Avenger and I’ve seen parts melt together on those.”

James turned toward Shepard with a mock-disbelieving expression. “Do you believe this guy? ‘Biotics this’ and ‘biotics that’ and ‘I can melt guns.’” Kaidan glanced up at James, then went back to his task.

“You haven’t been around biotics much, have you?” Shepard asked, thinking it was completely possible.

“Sure I have. They just don’t brag about melting guns.”

Kaidan looked up at the Lieutenant again, an eyebrow slightly lifted. “I didn’t say I melted a gun, I just said I’ve seen it happen. You see, shit happens when you throw a bunch of young men and women fresh to Spec Ops on the same squad and encourage them to use biotics.” Shepard bet it was better than throwing a bunch of completely untrained biotics together and basically abusing them through training.

He’d long ago accepted that he’d hold a grudge on Kaidan’s behalf against BAaT. His students had no idea how lucky they were to have gotten Kaidan.

Again, James turned to Shepard. “And Ghost is the one in charge of that?”

That was the first Shepard had heard that nickname. It didn’t seem to fit, at least a little more than James’ other names didn’t always fit for anyone but him.

“Ghost?” Shepard asked.

“He started calling me that after we got back from Eden Prime,” Kaidan explained with a shrug.

“Well, look at him. He looks as white as he did when we dropped him at the Citadel.” Shepard had to bite down a harsh comment for that: Kaidan getting hurt like he had was still a sore spot for Shepard. “Then he powers up and starts to glow. So, Ghost.” Out of the seemingly effortless assignment of nicknames Vega gave people, that was a little more far-fetched than usual. “Besides, he’s Spec Ops. And not only is he Spec Ops, he runs a whole division of Spec Ops. If it’s what he’s supposed to do, he gets in and out of hostile territory without them knowing he was there. You know if the Alliance had been acknowledging the Collectors, he’d have been sent in there with his guys to take care of it.”

James probably wasn’t wrong, except that…

“I wasn’t a Major then and I wasn’t with the Spec Ops division at the time,” Kaidan clarified.

James shrugged it off, though. “Still probably would have sent you, then given you a field promotion just to cover their bases to get you where they wanted you.” Knowing Hackett and Anderson and from what Kaidan had told him about the time they’d been out of contact, that wasn’t too far-fetched of a statement. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your obsessive checking of guns you don’t use, but I’m telling Esteban you don’t trust his work.”

“And he’ll humor you, but won’t really listen to a word you say, like he always does.” Kaidan turned back to the parts in his hand, obviously satisfied with their state because he set it to the side with the rest of the checked parts and returned to his disassembly.

“Then I guess I should humor you guys by pretending I didn’t interrupt your guys’ latest lip-lock.” James turned to walk away before they could react much, Shepard’s head dropped as he rubbed his hands over his face and through his buzzed hair.

He was about to look toward Kaidan for his reaction when he heard Vega let out quite the undignified yelp as he struggled to regain balance suddenly gone. Shepard didn’t need to look to Kaidan to know there would be a slight glow of biotic energy.

As it was, Vega spun around and looked ready to cuss Kaidan out but for the Push, but saw something that made him change his mind. He actually gave Kaidan a wide grin. “Alright, Ghost! Now that’s the shit I wanna see from you!” With that declared, James turned and headed to his corner of the cargo hold.

Kaidan watched after him for a few seconds before shaking his head and glancing over to Shepard. “I know he’s a great soldier. I’ve seen him be a great soldier. It’s just the time between the fighting that I’m not so sure what he does in battle isn’t a fluke.”

Shepard laughed at Kaidan’s observation. “It’s not a harsh opinion. Tell him that next time he pushes it.”

“I tell him that all the time.”

Of course he did, because while Kaidan may be one of the most politically savvy members of the crew, he still greatly believed in being honest. And considering how Vega liked to find Kaidan’s buttons and push them, Kaidan would be brutally honest in response.

“You might want to think of a new way of wording it. It’s obviously not getting through to him.”

Kaidan’s voice rose when he responded, speaking loudly enough for James to hear him, “It’s not my job to get things through his thick skull. That one’s all on you, Commander.”

“And people don’t believe me when I say you can be an asshole.”

“That’s the result of years of framing people’s opinion of me into what I want them to see.”

And, again, Shepard wasn’t sure if Kaidan was kidding or not.

**Author's Note:**

> I've got a few other one-shots like this coming together and will be posting them as a series. So far they're not necessarily connected to each other, but are just moments like this between the guys. We'll see where it goes and I'm open to prompts or suggestions.  
> The ultimate goal is to get plot bunnies rejuvenated for a sequel to my other story A Touch of the Past, which I've been planning since I finished it. I have solid ideas of what I want to happen, I've just got to hammer down some key details before I can get started. Hopefully some time just writing will help me.  
> Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you.  
> See you next time!


End file.
